spittle

Romantic poetry was also as much a part of chivalry as jousting (and the such) by knights at tournamants during the extremely violent medievel period. My question 'Do any straight men enjoy poetry?' was just banter. I don't subscribe to stereotypes of sexuality. Gay men eat Keash etc

Out of all the poems that have been posted the only one I care for is the Robert Frost 'Miles to go before I sleep'. ...but I cannot explain why that one manages to penetrate where the others fail to reach me.

I have spent more than my fair share within institutions (Youth Offending, Rehab, Prison....) and in every single place we were encouraged to write poetry. To me this was a way of providing a kind of emotional outlet for the guys who had so little education they couldn't articulate their feelings and frequently exploded into aggressive displays. It never ceased to amaze me how many convicts used the opening line "No bail, Just jail....." I feel depressed just remembering them all.

Yes. Straight men read, write and even enjoy poetry! I just don't 'get it'. It leaves me cold. Abstract art also fails to reach me. I think I'm just too grounded for it. Maybe its a left/right brain thing? Millions of people can't all be wrong so I accept the problem is on my side of the fence.

Do any straight men read poetry?

I feel stupid! I do know that Bucharest is the capital of Romania (who could forget Caecescu's ((sp?)) final mussellini impression). For some reason I thought kosmo was bulgarian. Romania and Bulgaria are being discriminated against in UK. Over the last four years hundreds of thousands of polish and baltic workers have come to my country but the government has decided to impose strict restrictions against romanian and bulgarian citizens.

Only the Americans and canadians can access it! Could someone with access copy and post it?

A Bulgarian lawyer??? Is the Organised crime problem as bad over there has the british Immigration Authorities would have us believe? I work nights in a blast freezer doing extremely physical manual labour. Despite it paying excellent rates for none skilled work only one person out of twelve manages to stay their first month. Sweating at minus 30 for 8hrs per night is too much for most and, i must confess, I really wish I'd spent my time at school doing more than having fun.

Corsica was Italian??? the Corsicans and sicilians seem to share many traditions. Cockney Rhyming slang was originally a code to confuse the police. the police must have been fairly dumb not to figure it out instantly.

what are their closest North American relatives? Weren't North and South America separate for the majority of their evolutions?

I have little inclination to devote the precious spare time I have to any fiction. There are just so many historical era's and area's that I am curious about....

Persian Fire by Tom Holland. I enjoyed it as much as Rubicon despite knowing bugger all about the Greeks and Persians. He really can write narrative history. I did a search on Amazon and he has a future release concerning the centuries before and after the Norman conquest. I'll buy it ASAP.

Whats their closest American relative??? Bison....?

Are these poems incomprehensible? Which area of France did he come from? The Corsicans were a force to be reckoned with. I don't doubt there were crime gangs/groups long before Cervantes but I hope to track the beginnings of still active groups.

A group of criminals are being escorted in a chain gang when Quixote (John Lithgow) and a very reluctant Sancho (Bob Hoskins) attack the guards and unchain them. Rather than show gratitude the convicts rob Quixote and Panza, even taking Sancho's beloved donkey. What do you expect from ...'the brotherhood of villains' complains Sancho. It stuck in my mind because I once read that the Camorra (Naples Mafia) was much older than its Sicillian neighbours and experts believe it had been transported to Campania from Spain during the reign of the Bourbons. Firther research mentioned a group called La Garduna from Seville but there seems to be little written in English about this early crime fraternity. Annoyingly there is much more written about the medievil beginnings of the Sicillian Mafiaeven though they have all been dismissed as impossible by serious historians and linguists for decades....but that doesn't get in the way of a good story so the myths are securely in the bloodstream of these folk legend.

I am attempting to trace the earliest origines of criminal brotherhoods and recently saw a film version of Don Quixote that made reference to the 'brotherhood of villains'. If anyone could confirm or refute what Cervantes actually wrote on this group it would be most helpful.

Is Obama black or mixed race? He's a very pale 'black' man.

Loads of the actors from ROME were cast in these docudrama's. My biggest disappointment was the Tiberius Grachus episode having no character (or even mention of) Gaius Grachus! That said I watched every one and plan on buying the DVD.....there's precious little to choose from out there so I buy what becomes available.

Every time I hear the first 20 seconds of Ace of Spades by Motorhead I want to do something reckless like drive my car onto the pavement or punch a stranger in the face. I never actually do any of these things but I do understand the energy of Rage Against the Machine or pantera's Primal Concrete Sledge. Radiohead is my most listened to band of the last decade, followed by Eels. The Johnny Cash cover version of the Nine Inch Nails song 'HURT' brought a real tear to the eye and lump to the throat. Especially when the video accompanied it. Very profound 'cycle of life' stuff. Beautiful.

The Spanish speaking cultures actually name their children with both. If your Mother is Maria Garcia and your father is Santiago Jimenez then you are Pedro Garcia Jimenez. So the next time you see The Magnificient Seven and Ul Brinner enquires of the mexican peasants "Why do you have such long names?" You'll be able to amaze any teenagers in the household by saying "Actually, I know why....".

'...Cognomina used as praenomen...'. Could this be compared to the American habit of using surnames as first names?

wasn't the name 'Drusus' used only by the Claudians? I would imagine Tiberius named his son after his brother. Or am I applying modern reasons to ancient events?

I have vague memories of a documentary series called Bamber Gasgoin's 'The Christians' were he discussed how the first real disagreement amongst the early Christians was whether it would be just for Jews or for Gentiles to adopt also. I seem to recall that this disagreement was amongst converts with actual memories of the Apostles, so extremely early in the history of organised Christianity.

This list would be an ongoing process. I doubt we could ever agree on who (or why) people should be considered for inclusion. My own personal priorities would ensure figures who helped create World Powers (Roman, Mongol, British etc) would get top billing. I feel the religious founders are over-rated. Their original teachings have been changed, twisted, expanded/reduced, re-invented or simply forgotten to fit the political manifesto's of thousands of secular or spiritual world leaders from Constantine to James 1 via Henry VIII. Just study the reigns of Henry VIII's 3 offspring to understand how members of the same family and generation could be at odds to one another. When one adds the divisions of time and place to the mix the teachings of Christ are all but lost in the smallprint of political control.

The list seems very abitrary. Mohammad at 1. Christ at 7, Abraham at 13..... How were these names/positions reached? Newton (at 14) said 'he saw a little further by standing on the shoulders of giants'. Did he mean the 13 above him in this list?